{"id":7697,"date":"2020-09-27T17:46:19","date_gmt":"2020-09-27T15:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=7697"},"modified":"2020-09-27T17:46:19","modified_gmt":"2020-09-27T15:46:19","slug":"technician-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/09\/27\/technician-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways Fleets Can Solve a Technician Shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo: James Menzies<\/em><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Frustrated with the quality of technician talent your local school is churning out? Maybe you need to get more involved with the school to help solve the problem, rather than blaming the training providers and its graduates.<\/span><\/p>\n

That was a message during a panel discussion at the Technology & Maintenance Council\u2019s fall meetings, on Supporting education to help resolve your technician shortage. Panelists included: Brad Kuykendall, CEO of Western Technical College; George Arrants, vice-president of the ASE Education Foundation; Kenneth Calhoun, fleet optimization manager, Altec; and Eric Benge, senior manager of fleet maintenance with Walmart\u2019s supply chain division.<\/span><\/p>\n

They all urged technician employers to become more engaged with their local training institutions to help guide them on industry requirements and ultimately to turn out better-prepared technicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

Supporting the Schools<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not involved with your local school, you are part of the problem,\u201d Arrants blasted. \u201cOur needs are constantly changing. We need to manage expectations and the only way to do that is to be involved. It\u2019s not somebody else\u2019s problem \u2013 it\u2019s everybody\u2019s.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One way companies can support schools is by providing access to equipment \u2013 but there\u2019s a risk in doing so. Calhoun recalls donating a piece of equipment to a local school, only to find it still being used 22 years later.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLo and behold it was still in active inventory,\u201d he said of the discovery during a site visit. \u201cI\u2019m not sure what value comes from working with technology from the previous century.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To prevent this, Calhoun suggested equipment be loaned \u2013 not donated \u2013 with an accompanying agreement that lays out the length of the loan, and when it will be reviewed for a possible year-long extension. This keeps schools from continuing to train on obsolete, outdated equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Kuykendall said equipment loans or donations are extremely valuable for training institutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEquipment costs with the increase in technology have increased substantially,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cIt makes it extremely difficult for some schools to provide updated training. Some are training on equipment from the 90s we just aren\u2019t seeing anymore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He urges fleets to donate damaged vehicles, and says schools can also partner with OEMs to secure access to equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with an OEM can be a wonderful partner,\u201d he said. \u201cThe educational institution gets access to some of that training equipment, the fleet manager or dealership is getting better qualified graduates, and students are winning because they have better training equipment to work on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Calhoun said equipment can be rotated through a school if fleets are aware in advance of what skills will be taught and when. When loaning equipment, take advantage of the opportunity to visit the school and engage with the students, he suggested.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Power of PACs<\/span><\/h2>\n

Get involved with your local school\u2019s Program Advisory Committee (PAC), urged Calhoun.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to see change, you need to be a part of that change,\u201d he said. The PAC should be led by someone from industry \u2013 not the training institution \u2013 and it\u2019s up to them to guide the school on what employers need from graduates.<\/span><\/p>\n

Calhoun said copious notes should be taken during PAC meetings, and minutes presented at the beginning of each meeting. Schools need to act on PAC recommendations, or be held accountable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt ensures your input is valued and being taken into consideration and used to improve the programs,\u201d Calhoun said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrants said PAC chairmen should be people of importance in the community, such as trucking company owners. \u201cDon\u2019t pick just anyone from industry to be a PAC leader,\u201d he said. \u201cFind someone who has importance in the community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For PAC leaders, Arrants said to \u201cdetermine what you expect to get out of that meeting and create the agenda backwards.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Calhoun suggested ending PAC meetings with a tour of the shop. And he added one of the PAC\u2019s objectives should be to push educators outside their comfort zones.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy mission in life is to geofence their comfort zone and not ever let them back in it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t leave educators to figure this out on their own. You have to be the voice that drives that change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrants suggested inviting former students into PAC meetings, so they can provide feedback to help improve the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

From the school side of the equation, Kuykendall said decision makers from campus should be involved, to show their commitment to the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Supporting the Students<\/span><\/h2>\n

In addition to supporting the training providers, trucking employers should also engage students \u2013 even before they reach the post-secondary education level.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you wait until they reach community college, they may never get there,\u201d said Arrants. \u201cYou need to be looking at your local high school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

High schools may not have a diesel program, but many offer automotive shop classes, and Arrants said studies have shown 18% of those students in automotive programs want to work on trucks and heavy equipment. \u201cLet\u2019s not overlook the diamond in the rough \u2013 the automotive programs in your community,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kuykendall noted many students struggle to obtain funding to pursue their post-secondary education, and urged industry to support them with financial aid or tuition reimbursement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt really impacts many of the students who could turn into be superstar technicians,\u201d Kykendall said of the cost of post-secondary education. Sometimes, he added, the school will match scholarships offered by employers. Helping to pay for an aspiring technician\u2019s education will instill loyalty if they are hired upon graduating.<\/span><\/p>\n

Calhoun said if industry doesn\u2019t invest in its future talent, it will be impossible to attract the right talent.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in our industry complain, if they could only find employees who can pass a drug screen and show up on time. Can we set the bar any lower than that? We should recruit for character and teach for skills,\u201d he said. Investing in future talent is less expensive than the cost of bad hires, he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Walmart\u2019s Benge said it\u2019s important to engage students and manage their expectations. Too often employers expect a star technician to show up on day one, while new hires expect to be tearing down engines and transmissions right from the start.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a few PMIs, wheel seal replacements and brake jobs, they are off chasing another dream and ultimately, we both lose,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Benge, his reaction to this problem was initially to blame the new hires and the training providers. But then, when discussing the issues with peers in industry associations, he came to realize the employers have to tackle the issue themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe turning point for me was engagement in our local trucking association and truck training committees,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Benge also emphasized the importance of internship programs. At Walmart, the current program is in its fourth year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA solid internship program can move you closer to the front of the line and give the student an opportunity to learn more about your organization and opportunities prior to making a long-term commitment,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kuykendall said internship programs are a great opportunity for shops to \u201ctry before you buy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to make sure not only is that individual competent in their technical field, but also a good cultural fit,\u201d he added. \u201cYou can have a phenomenal technician in the shop but if they don\u2019t fit into your culture there\u2019s going to be a lot of butting of heads and aggravation on both sides.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

James Menzies is the editor of Today’s Trucking, where this article\u00a0originally appeared. This content was used with permission from Newcom Media as part of a cooperative editorial agreement.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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by James Menzies, Today\u2019s Trucking<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.truckinginfo.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo: James Menzies Frustrated with the quality of technician talent your local school is churning out? Maybe you need to get more involved with the school to help solve the problem, rather than blaming the training providers and its graduates. That was a message during a panel discussion at the Technology & Maintenance Council\u2019s fall…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[53],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7697"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7699,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7697\/revisions\/7699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}